The present invention is directed generally to the scrolling of a document on a display screen or the like, and more particularly to various apparatuses and methods for controlling document scrolling using a touch-sensitive scrolling device.
Scrolling of documents, such as word processing documents or Internet web pages, for example, is a common task when using computing systems. There have been recent efforts focusing on methods and techniques for providing pleasant and efficient user interfaces for scrolling. It has been observed that people perform many real-world tasks using both hands. When users operate computers, however, they are often required to use a single hand for many major interface activities, such as moving a mouse. The single hand used is usually the dominant hand of the user. Even when using the mouse to scroll through a document, the dominant hand is typically used. This can be inefficient where the dominant hand may be required for other tasks as well, such as entering numbers on a numeric pad or selecting objects on the screen.
Known methods of scrolling documents are also not as intuitive or easy to use as they could be. For instance, conventional systems typically require that the user first move a cursor on the screen to a scroll bar before scrolling with a mouse, or that the user press arrow keys on a keyboard or rotate a scroll wheel on a mouse. However, some of these techniques do not allow for precise scrolling or the ability to move to a distant portion of the document quickly and accurately. There is a need for better ways to accurately control document scrolling. There is also a need for providing the ability to accurately control document scrolling without the user having to move his or her hands from the keyboard.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a touch-sensitive scrolling device, preferably in the form of an elongated touch-sensitive strip-shaped surface, may be used to manually control scrolling. The scrolling device may, however, be of various shapes, such as square, rectangular, oblong, circular, cross-shaped, X-shaped, and oval.
Various automatic scrolling functions may be implemented using the scrolling device. According to an aspect of the present invention, various techniques and/or gestures may be used to initiate an auto-scroll mode and/or other mode. These techniques are related to regional positioning of the user""s finger (or other pointer) for a threshold amount of time and/or with at least a threshold amount of pressure. In a hold-and-scroll initiation technique, the speed of the automatic scrolling may be determined by finger pressure and/or other factors. For instance, if the user initiates contact with the scrolling device within an up-scrolling or down-scrolling region, then the document may in response begin to auto-scroll following an optional short delay. The rate of automatic scrolling may depend upon the amount of finger/pointer pressure applied to the surface of the scrolling device. To more accurately calculate the amount of finger pressure applied, a specialized algorithm may be used.
According to another aspect of the present invention, if the user touches and holds the pointer anywhere on the touch-sensitive surface of the scrolling device without moving or without substantial movement, then after an optional short delay an auto-scrolling mode may be initiated such that subsequent motions of the pointer along the scrolling device surface causes to the document to scroll at a rate related to the distance between the initial contact point and the current position of the user""s pointer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, different scrolling rates and/or sensitivities may be utilized for scrolling in one direction (e.g., scrolling up) as compared with scrolling in another direction (e.g., scrolling down). This may help account for the shape of the touch-sensitive surface of the scrolling device and/or bezel and/or for the fact that more of the user""s finger/pointer may be expected to contact the surface of the scrolling device in one area of the surface as compared with another area of the surface, due to the position of the hand and/or shape of the finger/pointer.
These and other features of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. Although the invention has been defined using the appended claims, these claims are exemplary in that the invention is intended to include the elements and steps described herein in any combination or subcombination. Accordingly, there are any number of alternative combinations for defining the invention, which incorporate one or more elements from the specification, including the description, claims, and drawings, in various combinations or subcombinations. It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant technology, in light of the present specification, that alternate combinations of aspects of the invention, either alone or in combination with one or more elements or steps defined herein, may be utilized as modifications or alterations of the invention or as part of the invention. It is intended that the written description of the invention contained herein covers all such modifications and alterations.